[Nigeria] Hope that new minimum wage will improve living standards

In Nigeria, there has been optimism among workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that the new minimum wage will alleviate suffering and improve living standards, Realnews reports.

According to reporting from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), with the region’s economic realities in mind, the Federal Government commenced efforts to improve the minimum wage of workers.

The Federal Government inaugurated a 37-member tripartite committee to deliberate and create a wage structure to mitigate the effect of Nigeria’s current economic conditions.

As he inaugurated the committee - with membership from federal and state governments, the private sector and organised labour - Vice President Kashim Shettima reportedly told it to quickly arrive at a resolution.

The vice president asked members to submit their reports early as the current N30,000 minimum wage would expire at the end of March 2024.

Workers in the FCT speaking to NAN on March 3 in Abuja, said that the current economic situation which had led to hardship for citizens, needed to be tackled speedily. They reportedly urged the minimum wage committee to work swiftly and in the interest of the suffering masses.

Mrs Comfort Uzor, a civil servant, commended the government in its efforts towards redeeming the wage allowance it promised Nigerian workers. However, she appealed for the committee to taking into account Nigeria’s increasing rate of inflation while deliberating on the wage.

She said, “ The government has surprised us by paying the wage allowance till January, although, the redemption almost did not have much effect because of the high cost of goods in the market.”

Jude Johnson, another civil servant, reportedly emphasised the need for the government to increase the salaries of workers to enable them to give their best in their roles.

“This past week, I went to work only three times because I did not have money to pay for transportation; and I have lots of colleagues who did not also go to work.

“Life has not been easy for many of us these days; in fact, some of our children have dropped out of school due to high cost of things. And the money is not even there.

“I am seriously looking forward to this new minimum wage, and praying that the increment is reasonable enough to help augment certain things for us,” he said.

According to NAN, on March 1 the committee announced that it would hold a public hearing on March 7 in all six of Nigeria’s geo-political zones to deliberate on the minimum wage for workers.

The participation of state and local governments, labour unions, employers of labour, civil society groups, small and medium enterprises and other stakeholders in the six geo-political zones has been encouraged.

Source: Realnews

(Quotes via original reporting)

In Nigeria, there has been optimism among workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that the new minimum wage will alleviate suffering and improve living standards, Realnews reports.

According to reporting from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), with the region’s economic realities in mind, the Federal Government commenced efforts to improve the minimum wage of workers.

The Federal Government inaugurated a 37-member tripartite committee to deliberate and create a wage structure to mitigate the effect of Nigeria’s current economic conditions.

As he inaugurated the committee - with membership from federal and state governments, the private sector and organised labour - Vice President Kashim Shettima reportedly told it to quickly arrive at a resolution.

The vice president asked members to submit their reports early as the current N30,000 minimum wage would expire at the end of March 2024.

Workers in the FCT speaking to NAN on March 3 in Abuja, said that the current economic situation which had led to hardship for citizens, needed to be tackled speedily. They reportedly urged the minimum wage committee to work swiftly and in the interest of the suffering masses.

Mrs Comfort Uzor, a civil servant, commended the government in its efforts towards redeeming the wage allowance it promised Nigerian workers. However, she appealed for the committee to taking into account Nigeria’s increasing rate of inflation while deliberating on the wage.

She said, “ The government has surprised us by paying the wage allowance till January, although, the redemption almost did not have much effect because of the high cost of goods in the market.”

Jude Johnson, another civil servant, reportedly emphasised the need for the government to increase the salaries of workers to enable them to give their best in their roles.

“This past week, I went to work only three times because I did not have money to pay for transportation; and I have lots of colleagues who did not also go to work.

“Life has not been easy for many of us these days; in fact, some of our children have dropped out of school due to high cost of things. And the money is not even there.

“I am seriously looking forward to this new minimum wage, and praying that the increment is reasonable enough to help augment certain things for us,” he said.

According to NAN, on March 1 the committee announced that it would hold a public hearing on March 7 in all six of Nigeria’s geo-political zones to deliberate on the minimum wage for workers.

The participation of state and local governments, labour unions, employers of labour, civil society groups, small and medium enterprises and other stakeholders in the six geo-political zones has been encouraged.

Source: Realnews

(Quotes via original reporting)